Though it’s not quite ready yet, on Friday Industry Minister James Moore showed off what may end up being the front page of the Harper government’s new digital policy strategy — a strategy that now has a name: Digital Canada 150.

As Moore touched upon some of what will be included, he acknowledged quite a bit was already rolled out in the 2014 budget — the $305 million over five years to enhance rural broadband service to an additional 280,000 Canadian households, for example.

“Under our digital policy, over 99 per cent of all Canadians will have five megabytes per second download speed. For those of you who don’t know what that means (it’s) a 720p high-definition streaming video anywhere in this country, fully accessible,” he told a session at the Manning Conference in Ottawa.

“The actual ability to deliver that to the entirety of this country — all across the complexity of our landscape — is a noble goal, but one that we’re going to achieve.”

The strategy, Moore continued, will also take steps to make sure Canadians are protected.

“If we’re going to be encouraging more digital participation by citizens and businesses online, Canadians must know that their banking purchases and transactions are safe. They need to know that their privacy is insured, and Canadians want to also know that their children are safe from online predators and from cyber-bullying,” he said.

One way they’ll be doing that is by increasing funding for the Communications and Security Establishment.

According to spending plans released Thursday, the spy agency will see its budget increased 86.85 per cent this year. Some $300 million of the total $829.1 million budget is “for a contract payment related to delivery of CSE’s new facility in 2014.”

On Friday Moore was at his most inspired, however, when reverting to his former role as heritage minister, arguing that a pan-Canadian digital platform is also a tool for national unity, say it “will allow us to tell stories to one another, to build this country moving forward.”

“You know it’s a sad and pathetic fact that in only four of Canada’s 13 provinces and territories is it mandatory for a student to take a history class in order to graduate from high school.”

The 2014 budget provided over $4.2 million in ongoing funding for the Virtual Museum of Canada — a website that provides access to Canadian museums’ virtual exhibitions — and $1.2 million for the Online Works of Reference, which hosts cultural and historical content.

Moore didn’t say how or if that funding would be supplemented, but did say the context is different from when then-industry minister Tony Clement put out the Digital Economy Strategy.

“‘Digital economy strategy’ was the language used by Minister Clement because it made sense then — back in 2010, of course — coming out of the recession,” he told reporters.

“The context is different. I’m talking about a digital strategy in a different context which includes the economic aspects, but it’ll be broad-based; it’ll be substantive; it’s achievable. There’s funding that’s related to budget 2014, and I think it’ll be comprehensive and well-received.”